USING CYBER LAWS TO OPPRESS ZAMBIANS IS MORDEN-DAY COLONIZATION – LUNGU
FORMER President Edgar Chagwa Lungu says the current laws are a betrayal of the freedoms the country was celebrating on Africa Freedom Day.
In a statement yesterday, Lungu said freedom must enable citizens to criticise the government’s mishandling of national affairs without punishment.
“Fellow Zambians at home and abroad, from yesterday, extending into today, we have been celebrating the Africa Freedom Day.
This is the day on which we celebrate our liberation from colonial masters. This day is a powerful reminder of our collective struggle against colonialism, oppression and injustice.
It is indeed a day that reminds us that the freedom we enjoy today was not handed to us but was fought for at a great cost.
Fellow Zambians at home and abroad,
From yesterday, extending into today, we have been celebrating the Africa Freedom Day. This is the day on which we celebrate our liberation from colonial masters. This day is a powerful reminder of our collective struggle against colonialism, oppression and injustice.
It is indeed a day that reminds us that the freedom we enjoy today was not handed to us but was fought for at a great cost, by our brave and courageous forefathers and mothers who believed in justice and equality.
Unlike other African nations, Zambia is heir to a proud legacy of liberators who stood at the centre of the Africa Freedom Movement. Today, we should honor this history not only with words but also with renewed commitment to defend the freedoms for which our forefathers sacrificed everything.
Fellow country men and women, on this important day, we must ask ourselves what the freedom we are celebrating today means to us, collectively and individually.
This freedom must mean the ability for our people to speak freely without fear, to criticize the government’s mishandling of national affairs without punishment and organize – politically and otherwise – without facing any form of harassment.
While recognizing the importance of safeguarding our nation’s digital threats of all forms in the cyberspace, using the cyber security laws to surveil, silence or suppress citizens is the worst form of modern day colonialism.
Fellow country men and women, we must draw clear distinction between oppression and security because the Zambia we are living in today now has laws that are a betrayal to the very freedoms we are celebrating. These laws now intimidate journalists and citizens in general, into silence. Activists are being arrested while opposition voices are censored.
However, let me remind you that the true spirit of Africa Freedom Day calls us to speak out not only against the colonial chains of yesterday but the chains of injustice and oppression that we face today.
Therefore, I would like to further remind my fellow opposition leaders that we are not the enemies of our land but the conscience of this great nation. So, we must defend the constitutional rights of Zambians by speaking out against vices that threaten the very fabric of our democracy and freedoms as a people. Let us continue to call for reforms that protect free expressions, restore dignity of public and governance institutions and ensure that the government of the day upholds the rule of law.
To the youth who are the backbone of every nation, remember that you are the inheritors of not only this country but this great continent of Africa and the world at large. You should not let anyone make you believe that your voices and opinions are small because freedom belongs to you, too.
Mwemisepela, this day should not be reduced to a mere public holiday. Let it be a call to action, to reject oppression and injustice in all its forms. Call for unity of purpose beyond party lines to reclaim your true independence. Always remember that you are a people that is fully in charge of your own destiny.
May the memory of Africa’s heroes and heroines from north to south and east to west embolden us all. May their unwavering sacrifices inspire us all and may their spirits continue to guide us all in everything we do.
God bless Zambia.
God bless Africa.
Happy Africa Freedom Day.
Dr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu
Sixth President of Zambia
Tonse Alliance Chairman
It’s only that you legislated the Cyber law very late, you had intended to use it against HH but it was water under the bridge for you! While at it, if indeed it’s you Lungu why don’t chat about how you charged HH with treason and put him in a shit house at Lilayi before taking him to Mukobeko. What about the way you blocked him from going to chipata? Reflect before opening your mouth! We haven’t even touched gasing people.
All this is wrong.Mr Lungu came with the cyber law with his government.Today he must climb an ant hill and make the loudest noise about it no.Probably he is not the one talking.Someone must be putting words in his mouth.It is un believable that he could be the one.
The cyber law in force now is that which got its presidential assent from Edgar Lungu’s pen. What’s the self-proclaimed one-time top lawyer talking about here? If only the truth carried weight with him!
It’s better than when you were raping Zambia
You satan nyoko